Resiliency, expertise, and action.

This week the Iowa Nurses Association will send six delegates, Jay, and me to the ANA House of Delegates meetings at the National Harbor in Maryland. The other delegates are Lynn Boes, Mary Moser, Judy Collins, Ginny Wangerin, Colleen Brems, and Meriel Demuth.

By the time of this publication, we will have returned and will have more information to share with you. This year's House of Delegates is expected to be an historic event for the association, as several proposals are being considered which would fundamentally change the organization's structure. The goals are to make the association more efficient, and quicker to respond to issues.

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The Iowa Nurses Association is well prepared for the anticipated debate and decisions on these issues. The nurse representatives attending this year's House of Delegates are intelligent, dedicated, and experienced nurses. These nurses all have important characteristics needed to move our association in the right direction for our future. They have resilience, meaning the ability to positively adapt to change and to demonstrate competence under stress. They have expertise, meaning skills, problem solving, and knowledge of a system. Thirdly, our representatives devote time to action, meaning they demonstrate intentional behaviors requiring energy, consideration, and future planning.

Resiliency, expertise, and action are what the state and national nursing associations need for the important health care decisions being made and for the future of nursing. I believe members of the Iowa Nurses Association and it's delegates are well prepared and ready to lead the profession into the future.

By Patricia Freeland, MSN, RN-BC, CCM, President, Iowa Nurses Association